The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports a variety of programs to support the economic and social development in Macedonia. Since January 2003, USAID has funded the Macedonia Court Modernization Project (MCMP) for an initial period of three years to strengthen the judiciary, one of the fundamental pillars in a state based on the rule of law. DPK Consulting is now implementing the US$ 13.2 million project in coordination with USAID and Macedonian counterparts. An option period has been exercised by USAID, and the life of the MCMP project has been extended through September 30, 2007. The objectives of the project are: To develop the Macedonian Judiciary into a stronger, more effective and independent branch of government; To enable the Macedonian Judiciary to resolve legal disputes in a more timely, consistent and legally-correct manner, and to reduce case backlogs; To assist the Macedonian Judiciary to function in a more transparent, open, responsive and accountable manner and To help the Macedonian Judiciary develop the capacity and mechanisms for improving court organization, administration, management, training technology and performance over time to meet the needs of Macedonians for timely and consistent protection of their political and economic rights. To meet these objectives the MCMP has three components: Legal Structures and Practices Court Administration and Management Legal Training MCMP has found that these three components complement and mutually reinforce each other. For example, President Judges and court secretaries in the pilot courts are a fruitful source of suggestions about the changes needed in the Civil Procedure Law to enable courts to move cases to trial and to try or dismiss inactive cases. Those suggestions are incorporated into the discussion of framework legislation on civil procedure which was adopted into law in the spring of 2006 by the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia.